China's top environmental official said Tuesday China faces "serious" soil pollution that jeopardizes the ecology, food safety, people's health and the sustainable development of agriculture.

"It is estimated that nationwide 12 million tons of grain are polluted each year by heavy metals that have found their way into soil. Direct economic losses exceed 20 billion yuan (about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars)," said Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

Addressing a national video conference on soil pollution, Zhou said harmful substances in the soil are absorbed by crops. As people consume such crops, their health is at risk.

"Soil pollution has worsened. According to incomplete statistics, about 150 million mu (10 million hectares) of arable land in China has been polluted, " said Zhou.

China has around 1.8 billion mu (120 million hectares) of arable land.

On Tuesday, SEPA and the Ministry of Land and Resources jointly launched China's first soil pollution survey backed by a budget of1 billion yuan (125 million U.S. dollars).

The program aims to assess soil quality across the country by analyzing the amount of heavy metals, pesticide residue and organic pollutants in the soil.

Using the results of the survey, the two organizations will conduct pilot projects on rehabilitating and comprehensive treatment of polluted soil. They will also work to establish a soil quality supervision and management system.